It is known from the general state of the art to guide a dipstick by means of a steel tube that is externally mounted on the internal combustion engine. The steel tube is bent in order to be adapted to the contour of the internal combustion engine and detachably fixed on the crankcase of the internal combustion engine on its lower end with the aid of screws and seals. Along its longitudinal direction, the steel tube is usually fixed on the internal combustion engine at several points in the region of the cylinder block and/or cylinder head with the aid of additional mounting means. The steel tube ends at an easily accessible location in the engine compartment in the region of the cylinder head. The dipstick is inserted into the upper opening of the steel tube, as well as sealed relative to the steel tube by means of an elastomer ring and fixed therein.
In this solution, it is disadvantageous that a number of separate components is required for externally mounting the steel tube on the internal combustion engine. This is associated with a corresponding installation expenditure. In addition, it needs to be ensured that the externally arranged steel tube for the dipstick cannot be damaged due to external mechanical influences during the transport and the storage of the internal combustion engine before its installation into a motor vehicle.
It was already attempted to avoid the aforementioned disadvantages by directly realizing channels for guiding the dipstick from the cylinder head into the crankcase in the form of deep hole bores in the cylinder head and the cylinder block. Deep hole bores of this type result in a corresponding machining expenditure due to the bore length that frequently exceeds 400 mm. One also needs to take into account the constructive complexity of arranging corresponding bores that need to extend straight due to the manufacturing technology at a suitable location in the cylinder head and in the cylinder block. Consequently, the expenditures for this technical solution prove unjustifiably high.
The present invention therefore is based on the objective of developing means for guiding a dipstick that serves for determining the filling level of the lubricating oil in an internal combustion engine. It should be possible to realize the guiding means with a simple manufacturing technology and with a minimal number of individual components. Furthermore, other objectives, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.